30 October 2015: The fourth session of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific’s (ESCAP) Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) endorsed a set of recommendations and initiatives to enhance regional cooperation and make DRR an integral part of sustainable development in the region. Countries agreed to work together to: strengthen technical areas, such as drought monitoring and early warning; enhance the use of space applications; and promote risk-sensitive development strategies.

Senior government officials and experts from 33 countries attended the meeting, which convened from 27-29 October 2015, in Bangkok, Thailand.

Participants expressed concern over the increasing impacts of disasters on people, economies, cities and infrastructure, and said the erosion of environmental buffers further erodes capacity to deal with disasters.

The Committee requested ESCAP to: build greater coherence among UN actors in their DRR work through the UN’s Regional Coordination Mechanism in Asia and the Pacific; help establish a regional cooperation mechanism to address the impact of transboundary river basin floods; and assist countries’ access to innovative, early warning technological applications.

According to the ‘Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2015,’ which was launched during the meeting, the region bears the brunt of disasters worldwide, accounting for almost 60% of lives lost and 45% of disaster-related economic losses between 2005 and 2014. [UN Press Release] [ESCAP Press Release] [IISD RS Story on Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2015]